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Sunday, March 13, 2011

Spring Cleaning with Whole Foods!

I love Whole Foods, when I lived out west some might have even called me a Whole Foods Junkie. (oxymoron)

So I was more then excited when I was contacted to try out their newest brand of cleaning products. I am all about using Green Cleaners in my life. (except at work where I have no choice which makes me even more apt to go green in my life) I especially appreciated how the representative at Whole Foods sent me a gift card rather then sending me a package. I feel this option was much greener then it would have been to send me a big cardboard box filled with filler . The nearest Whole Foods to me is 45 minutes away in Cranston RI. So I was more then excited to make my first trip to an East Coast Whole Foods

So the first chance I got Annabella, Heather and I headed up to Cranston to go grocery shopping. I was so excited when I saw that they carried almost all the same products out east as they did out west. The only differences really were the local products from Sebastopol and Petaluma California that were missing. It did give me a tinge of homesickness for the West Coast, but it was quickly ignored when I saw the Butternut Squash Crab Bisque.... umm SAMPLE please?

So after spending an hour and a half in the store. We hit up the gigantic Hot Bar and headed home. My trunk full of healthy goodies for Annabella's lunch (my main goal for going there) as well as a few favorites for myself. (stocked up on Marcona Almonds, and crostoni crackers)

I got home late at night and planned a spring cleaning of the house the next day.

The first product I grabbed was the Soap Scum Remover. I really was excited to see an Organic Soap Scum remover. My shower stays pretty clean and doesn't really build up much soap scum, but I know that when I start to notice the build up I get out my scrubber and go to work with some vinegar. I liked the idea of someone else putting together a formula to do it for me. Annabella's baths had begun to work a nice practice ring around the tub for me to try this out on.

I really liked how this stuff worked. I did have to use a bit of scrubbing to get the soap scum off, I just used a brush and some circular motion and they came off really easy. I don't mind the bit of scrubbing. I clean tubs for a living and use chemicals to do that. I still have to scrub to get the scum off. So a natural cleaner that does the same is great by my standards.

Next I tried out the Citrus All-purpose cleaner. I really liked the smell of this stuff. It makes me want to eat an orange. It got my sink sparkling again with the simple wipe of a rag and it smells so yummy good. I've decided to plant it in the kitchen to encourage the other members of my family to use the cleaner. I wouldn't mind coming into a kitchen that always smells like this.

Also as someone who cleans often I have to talk about the sprayer on top of the bottles that I got from Whole Foods. They are excellent quality. I have a lot of trouble with sprayers on the tops of bottles wearing out because the spring on the back gets ruined or rusty. I noticed that the design of this bottle is a bit different and it springs back easily, I believe that these will last much longer then most spray bottle tops. This will allow me to reuse the bottles for other cleaners.

Next I tried the Unscented Glass Cleaner. I like a good spray on my glass cleaner that way my window doesn't get soaked and you don't end up using too many rags. I lightly sprayed the mirror and got to work. It was easy and even though the product is unscented I still really like how it smelled. Not strong or like ammonia like most window cleaners that I deal with. It was also really easy to get the toothpaste off my mirror. I am always getting toothpaste and soap on my mirror so I end up cleaning it a lot. I wouldn't mind switching to this cleaner, its great! My mirror had no streaks when I was done; the Glass cleaner was easy to wipe clean.

Finally I tried the Unscented Liquid dish soap. I am always trying out new dish soaps. I think that my house is a great tester for dish soaps. We go through tons of dishes a day, so we go through it like water (much opposition to the soaking method) My father is allergic to fragrances, so we have to be ultra careful of having scented products. Finally, my mom hates it when soap isn't foamy.

Well let me tell you this met all of our needs. You don't have to use much of the soap to get bubbles. Other natural dish soaps really lack in the bubbles area. Its not their fault, most bubbles come from chemicals. Its not even a bad thing since its really not bubbles that get things clean. Alas, we are spoiled and most Americans require a certain amount of bubbles to feel safe.

The unscented makes me feel good because I know that my father won't break out in hives!

All the products are affordable from $3-$8. If you're trying to clean and green your home this spring. Then be sure to check out Whole Food's entire line of cleaning products, they even have laundry detergent, fabric softener, and dryer sheets now!

I received a $20 gift certificate to Whole Foods to purchase the products for this review. No cash was exchanged for this review. Thank you to Whole Foods.